It all comes down to your daily routine. We do not have an income problem, especially in North America; we have a spending problem. Today I’ll discuss four money habits that keep you poor. Along with those, I’m including a well-known tool that you can use before making a large purchase. This tool will make the purchasing decision much easier for you.
1. Uncertainty about where your money is going
Do you ever sit down and examine your spending habits? You may believe you know where your money is going, but do you ever find yourself at the end of the month wondering where it all went? Do you keep a monthly budget or, at the very least, a quarterly record of your spending? You could be spending $10 here and $10 there and before you know it, you’ve spent thousands and thousands of dollars every month. Awareness is key.
2. Buying on a whim
The unfortunate part is that most of the things you enjoy will be obsolete in a few months. I am not perfect, I was definitely guilty of this one. I would buy a lot of things off amazon and then before you know that was $1000/month. Fixing habit #1, really helped with this one too. What about you? Do you get on amazon and start buying things right and left? Do you start buying all the useless things only because you think you need them at the moment?
3. Purchasing items in order to impress others
This could be a big one and lead to you spending a lot of money that you will later regret greatly. The tool I’ll provide at the end will be extremely useful in this regard. Do you go out and buy a new car because your neighbour did? Do you go out and buy new clothes and jewelry just to impress someone? The unfortunate reality is that you are not impressing anyone. If anything, what you’re doing is instilling envy in those around you because they’d rather have those shiny things themselves. One suggestion is to only buy things that truly make you happy, regardless of what others think.
4. Keep up with the most recent gadget
Are you the one who buys the newest iPhone? Are you the one purchasing the most recent computer? You don’t really need a new computer, but you buy it anyway because it’s the latest and greatest. It is the quickest. The most recent and greatest gadgets are becoming increasingly expensive and may cause you serious problems.
The 10-10-10 rule is a useful tool to use before making a large purchase. Before making a purchase, ask yourself:
“How will I feel about this in 10 minutes, 10 months, and 10 years?”
Stop and think about an answer for each case before deciding.
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I couldn’t agree with you more! One way I like to look at spending is through the lens of activities that are free. Imagine spending more time in nature, spending more time meditating or spending more time reading books from the library. These are all ways you can spend your time without spending your money.